Coach joined racist abuse of Black teen that lasted for years at school, Utah suit says
A Black teen in Utah was “barraged with racist, demeaning remarks” in school for years, including being called a racial slur while in the hall, a lawsuit says.
Ebony Davis also experienced ”a student turn off the lights in the classroom and shout ‘oh, where did Ebony go!’” and “students touch her hair without permission,” according to the federal lawsuit.
Additionally, students asked Davis for a “pass” so that could address her using a racial slur “without recourse,” the lawsuit says.
The alleged harassment was not singled to just the students, according to the lawsuit. One of the teen’s coaches would regularly make “racially charged and demeaning” statements to her, according to the court filing, which names the Farmington-based Davis School District and the former coach as defendants.
McClatchy News is not naming the coach, who has not been charged.
In a statement to McClatchy News on Jan. 3, the school district said that it “continues to prioritize safety and belonging as it is foundational to a child’s emotional and academic development. We stand firmly against any form of harassment or discrimination in our schools. A single student experience with harassment is intolerable and contrary to our mission, and we take those reports seriously.”
The district also said, “while we acknowledge there is continuous work to be done, we have established processes and systems in place, which are overseen by our Office of Equal Opportunity, to investigate and address bullying and harassment systematically. We are committed to taking necessary and appropriate steps to provide a safe environment for all students, free from all forms of harassment and discrimination.”
The district was already the subject of a federal investigation into racial harassment of students, and a 2021 settlement agreement laid out steps aimed at improving its policies and procedures.
Ebony Davis joined the district’s Multicultural Advisory Committee “in an effort to help” after the federal findings, but “the racist and demeaning slurs and ‘jokes’ from Ms. Davis’s fellow students did not let up,” according to the suit.
On the varsity basketball team, where Davis was said to be “a rising star,” the coach made comments that began to take a toll on the teen, the lawsuit says.
“For instance, when (he) asked the team to line up tallest to shortest, he would commonly remark in front of Ms. Davis’s peers that her hair does not ‘count’ towards her overall height,” the lawsuit says.
And “when money was mentioned” in a conversation involving Davis, “(he) would state that such was ‘a White people problem,’ implying that Black people do not have money and are broke,” the lawsuit says.
During Black History month, he’s accused of telling Davis, “‘it’s your month, we have to treat you special,’” and saying during scrimmages, “‘Oh look, I put the only Black girl on the white team’ or ‘The white team needs a girl with hops,’” the suit says.
An assistant coach reported the behavior, but an administrator delayed relaying the report “to the District’s Office of Equity, as required by the District’s agreement with the Department of Justice,” the lawsuit says.
Eventually, the office determined the coach “had intentionally engaged in racial harassment,” and he was reprimanded and transferred to another position, the suit says.
Meanwhile, Davis experienced anxiety and wanted to quit basketball, eventually letting her grades drop to the point where she was removed from the team, the suit says.
Her “relationship to the sport had, as a result of (the coach’s) behavior, entirely changed. To avoid feelings of anxiety and self-loathing, Ms. Davis avoided even entering into a basketball court,” the lawsuit says.
Davis kept going to Multicultural Advisory Committee meetings, and “even though the goal of the committee was to ameliorate racism in the district, no one, not even the principal, mentioned anything to Ms. Davis regarding the discrimination she had faced at the hands of (the coach),” the lawsuit says.
Davis is seeking unspecified damages.
Farmington is about a 15-mile drive north from downtown Salt Lake City.
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